William E. Siri (January 2, 1919 – August 24, 2004) was an American

biophysicist Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

and

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

. He was born in

Audubon, New Jersey Audubon is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 8,819,Audubon High School ''For the high school in Iowa with the same name, see Audubon Community School District'' Audubon High School is a comprehensive six-year community public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from Audubon, in Camd ...

Education and scientific career

Siri graduated from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

with a bachelor's degree in physics in 1942. He joined the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (then called the Radiation Laboratory) in 1943 and spent his entire career there. He was assigned to the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

from 1943 to 1945. His post-war scientific work was in the field of

nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is " radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emi ...

, with an emphasis on the use of radioisotopes to study red blood cells in humans. He edited the ''Handbook of Radioactivity and Tracer Methodology'', published by the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

in 1948. He developed an interest in how red blood cells respond to physiological stress, such as exposure to high elevations. He was a member of a research team headed by

John H. Lawrence John Hundale Lawrence (January 7, 1904 – September 7, 1991) was an American physicist and physician best known for pioneering the field of nuclear medicine. Background John Hundale Lawrence was born in Canton, South Dakota. His parents, Carl Gu ...

Mountaineering and polar exploration

In 1954, he led a ten-man Sierra Club expedition that unsuccessfully attempted to climb

Makalu Makalu ( ne, मकालु हिमाल, Makālu himāl; zh, t=馬卡魯峰, p=Mǎkǎlǔ fēng) is the fifth highest mountain in the world at . It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, in Nepal. One of th ...

. They were turned back by bad weather at 23,000 feet. This was the first American expedition to the Himalaya. In 1957, he participated in a joint American-British Antarctic expedition which studied the effects of extreme cold on human blood. He was deputy leader and scientific coordinator of the successful American expedition to

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

in 1963 that put five Americans and a

Sherpa Sherpa may refer to: Ethnography * Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal * Sherpa language Organizations and companies * Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility * ...

on the summit, although Siri himself did not make it to the summit. About Everest, Siri wrote, "Other mountains share with Everest a history of adventure, glory and tragedy, but only Everest is the highest place on earth. More than two-thirds of the earth's atmosphere lies below its summit, and for an unacclimatized man without oxygen, the top of the mountain is more endurable than outer space by only two or three minutes. The primitive, often brutal struggle to reach its top is an irresistible challenge to our built-in need for adventure."

Environmentalism

Siri served on the board of directors of the Sierra Club from 1956 to 1974. He served as president of the Sierra Club from 1964 to 1966. He was the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award for 1979.

Death

Siri died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

at his home in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, California after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for a decade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siri, William 1919 births 2004 deaths American mountain climbers Audubon High School (New Jersey) alumni Sierra Club directors Deaths from pneumonia in California Deaths from dementia in California Deaths from Alzheimer's disease People from Audubon, New Jersey People from Berkeley, California Scientists from Philadelphia University of Chicago alumni American biophysicists Sierra Club awardees